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Search called off for four British yachtsmen missing in mid-Atlantic Ocean Search called off for four British yachtsmen missing in mid-Atlantic Ocean
(about 9 hours later)
Four British men are missing at sea after the yacht they were sailing to the UK from a regatta in the Caribbean is feared to have capsized in the mid-Atlantic Ocean The US Coast Guard has stopped searching for four British sailors whose yacht capsized in the mid-Atlantic despite suggestions that they could still be alive in a life raft or trapped inside the boat’s upturned hull.
The crew of the Cheeki Rafiki were returning from Antigua Sailing Week when the 40ft performance racer/cruiser ran into difficulties on Thursday. The 39ft racing yacht, Cheeki Rafiki, began taking on water in the mid-Atlantic on Thursday while returning from Antigua Sailing Week in the Caribbean and contact was lost with the crew on Friday.
Contact with the four yachtsmen was lost in the early hours of Friday while they were diverting to the Azores. It is believed the crew abandoned to the life raft of the Beneteau First 40.7 yacht. A passing container ship, the Maersk Kure, spotted a capsized vessel that matched the boat’s description on Saturday about 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but did not stop to inspect it because nobody was seen on board.
US and Canadian aircraft and merchant vessels looked for them throughout Friday and Saturday but have now called off the search, according to British yacht training and charter firm Stormforce Coaching. The US Coast Guard, which was co-ordinating the international search operation, said it had suspended attempts to find the crew at 10am UK time yesterday.
Three of the four crew members were named by the company as Andrew Bridge, 21, Paul Goslin, 56 and Steve Warren, 52. The missing men, Paul  Goslin, 56, Steve Warren, 52, both from Somerset, James Male, 23, from Southampton, and Andrew Bridge, 21, from Farnham, Surrey,  were all described as experienced sailors.
All three were described as “very experienced offshore yachtsmen”, but only Mr Bridge was being paid by Stormforce for his role on the yacht. Mr Bridge’s aunt, Georgina Bridge, told Sky News: “Obviously the family are really concerned that the search has been suspended and we are really hoping that it will be resumed. Paul Goslin and James Male are experienced sailors
The fourth crew member was named as 23-year-old James Male. “We are hopeful that they were able to launch a life raft and that they are still on board that, so we would just really like the search to be resumed.”
Stormforce director Doug Innes said: "Although the search efforts co-ordinated by Boston were exceptional we are devastated that search has been called off so soon after the abandonment to a life-raft. Doug Innes, director of Southampton-based Stormforce Coaching, which manages the yacht, said the search operation had been “exceptional”.
“Our thoughts are with the four yachtsmen and their families and we hope and pray for them all.” However, he said he believed the crew had been able to get into a life raft and added: “We are devastated that search has been called off so soon after the abandonment to a life raft.”
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are aware of a missing yacht off the East Coast of the USA with four British nationals on board. Andrew Pindar, who runs the GAC Pindar sailing team, pointed to the successful  rescue of Tony Bullimore, a sailor who capsized in  the Indian Ocean in the  1990s and was trapped for  several days.
"We are in contact with the US Coastguard and have offered consular assistance to the families." “I don’t know what has happened in this particular case and wouldn’t want to speculate, but if nobody has gone to look inside there is a clear worry that survivors could have still been trapped there,” he said. Andrew Bridge and Steve Warren are experienced sailors
Additional reporting by Press Association “It is horrific to think that it [the container ship] could have sailed on with the possibility that someone was still inside.”
The US Coast Guard said it had “suspended its active search pending further developments”.
“We are extremely disappointed that we were not  able to locate the sailors  during the course of this extensive search.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with their families  during this difficult time,” said Captain Anthony Popiel,  1st Coast Guard District Chief of Response.